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Author Topic:   Aurora auction - lots 821-825
ArtandAstro
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posted 10-14-2006 11:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ArtandAstro   Click Here to Email ArtandAstro     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Hello,

can anybody confirm the flown status of lots 821 to 825 that come with a COA from the Irwin family?

I can say for example that lot 823 (biobelt assembly) is definitely n o t flown.

The actual part and serial number of Jim Irwin's Apollo 15 flown bio belt are PN# SEB 131 000 84-204 SN# 1519 and n o t PN# SEB 131 000 84-202 and SN# 1157.

Thus the COAs in particular for these lots should not be considered as a proof for the flown status of the offered artifacts.

This is another example that sometimes artifacts are offered as flown,although they were only spare articles or used for training.

I hope Aurora will be fair to their customers and correct the description of the lots at least for the ebay live auction.

Regards

Lennart

SRB
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posted 10-14-2006 12:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SRB   Click Here to Email SRB     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Lennart,

Welcome to posting on collectSpace. I emailed Victoria Campbell of Aurora Galleries similiar information about the Bio-Belt last week. So far I have not heard back from her. As you noted, the part number is different for the flown Bio-Belt. The part number changed after the Apollo 14 flight to end in -204, rather than the -202 part number for earlier Apollo flights. The -204 was also used on the Apollo 16 and 17 missions.
I am curious, however, where you located the S/N numbers for this Apollo 15 equipment. S/N numbers are hard to find for most flights.

Steve

ArtandAstro
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posted 10-14-2006 03:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ArtandAstro   Click Here to Email ArtandAstro     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Steve,

a couple of years ago I got a package of Apollo related papers, manuals and other documents from a gentleman, who worked during Apollo at JSC. Some of these documents deal with the PN# and SN# of actual flight equipment.

Lennart

Rick Mulheirn
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posted 10-15-2006 06:27 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Lennart,

I was intrigued to hear about your acquisition of material detailing the flown status or otherwise of Apollo suit hardware. You might just might be able to help me.

I own an Apollo "Cobra Head" comms switch with the serial number #06362AAJ883- V56.715100

Research would suggest if it was flown it would have been a later flight, Skylab or possibly ASTP but that is as far as I have got. The chap I acquired it from had two such switches, one of which I now know was flown on Apollo 17.

Would your documents shed any further light? Any help you can give to solve this mystery would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Rick.
RickMul57@aol.com

[Edited by Rick Mulheirn (October 15, 2006).]

ArtandAstro
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posted 10-15-2006 08:49 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ArtandAstro   Click Here to Email ArtandAstro     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Rick,

I will check my documents in regard to your Cobra head.
Please consider that the documents do not cover the whole CM and LM flight equipment.
If I find further informations for you, I'll contact you directly.

Lennart

Matt T
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From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001

posted 10-15-2006 08:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Matt T   Click Here to Email Matt T     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I've been debating mentioning my own concerns over the Irwin flown items, but given the doubts expressed above I'll chip in with the following -

I have a document that I believe to be a Smithsonian/NASM suit inventory circa late 90s. The document came as part of a larger batch, and its exact source is uncertain; any data drawn from it is necessarily questionable without confirming it's origin. That said, wherever I have checked the info contained in it against other sources it has proved 100% accurate.

It contains detailed part and serial numbers for Jim Irwin's flown Apollo 15 suit that matches the info above i.e. this is not the flown bio-belt. It would seem fair to assume that the Smithsonian hold the flown belt and that this fact could be checked with them.

However, the part and serial number of the bio-harness DO match up with those in the NASM inventory. Which raises another potential problem - the document appears only to list suits in the NASM collection. This indicates the potential for a dispute of ownership between the Irwin estate (or the consignor if not the Irwins) and NASM.

The document cites the source of the info for Irwin's suit as an 'ILC Manifest'. Most of the suits listed cite 'NASM per photo files' as the source. This ambiguity (i.e. the ownership of the item is only assumed from paperwork rather than from photo-documentation by NASM) may offer a possibility that the item was gifted to Irwin but it's removal from the flight configuration suit wasn't noted prior to it's donation to NASM.

Whatever the truth, before bidding on this item it would be worth making a call to NASM. It would appear that legally it is theirs to claim, if they should so wish.

As regards the other Irwin flown items I have no info, but given the issues above it would be desirable to find further corroborating evidence of their flown status.

Cheers,
Matt

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